‘Sascha’ must face local hero!
The third round is coming up at the first Masters of the year in Indian Wells. Brandon Nakashima will face Alex Zverev, and Wettbasis has a tip! As a native Californian, Nakashima is the local hero at the tournament on the West Coast and can therefore be sure of support from the stands.
Both players entered the BNP Paribas Open 2026 as seeded starters in the previous round. They did not disappoint, each recording straight 2-0 victories.
Unlike the Hamburg native, who bowed out early in the last tournament in Acapulco, the American was already in good form before that. At the aforementioned tournament in Mexico, he marched all the way to the semifinals. Furthermore, he only narrowly missed out on reaching the final after losing in three sets to Frances Tiafoe, with whom he will also be playing doubles in Indian Wells.
We therefore do not consider the American to be completely without a chance in the match against the world number 4 and are going for a three-set prediction for Brandon Nakashima against Alex Zverev. However, as we still favor the Hamburg native, who is the only German player left in the tournament after Daniel Altmaier and Jan-Lennard Struff were eliminated, we believe that the odds of him winning 2:1 are also worth considering.
Brandon Nakashima – Alexander Zverev Head-to-head record
Brandon Nakashima and Alex Zverev last faced each other in October last year at the Masters in Cincinnati. The German won 2:0, remaining undefeated in their fifth encounter!
The odds also point to a victory for Brandon Nakashima in the upcoming match against Alex Zverev.
Brandon Nakashima – Alexander Zverev Tip
This year’s edition of the tournament in Indian Wells will see the search for a successor to last year’s British winner Jack Draper.
He made a confident start to the tournament against Italy’s Matteo Berrettini, who reached the Wimbledon final in 2021, winning 6-3, 6-4. However, the same can be said of his upcoming opponent Nakashima, who defeated Argentina’s Camilo Ugo Carabelli in two sets.
In addition, he reached the fourth round in Indian Wells last year and was already in good form before the tournament in California, having reached the semifinals in Acapulco. This means that the German faces a challenging task, which is why we are opting for three sets in the match between Brandon Nakashima and Alex Zverev.
This is also supported by the fact that the Hamburg native traditionally has problems in Indian Wells – he has not gone beyond the quarterfinals in 2021 and 2024 at this tournament. On top of that, as a Californian, his opponent will receive more support from the stands at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
